Lin Ting looked at the courtyard, which was empty except for the two of them.
“Why is there no one here?”
Duan Ling appeared nonchalant as he fiddled with the key and lock, producing a “ding-ling-dang-lang” sound.
“I was afraid they would disturb your rest, so I sent them away. Is there a problem?”
She instinctively glanced at the key and lock in his hand.
“No, it’s just suddenly so quiet that I’m not used to it.”
‘Is he afraid I’ll secretly contact Xia Zimo or Jin Anazai through others? So even after using the Nanli Poison, he still trapped me in this courtyard, sent the servants away, and prevented me from contacting anyone—or anyone from contacting me. This way, he can stop me from straying.’
Lin Ting fixed her gaze on her nose, her nose on her heart.
From this, she realized one thing: she had encountered an unusually tricky problem this time.
This task easily leads to misunderstandings.
Duan Ling is observant and sensitive, even suspicious.
She can’t tell him the truth, so what should she do?
Out of the corner of her eye, Lin Ting unintentionally glanced at the courtyard gate in the distance.
There seemed to be a lock on it as well.
She suppressed her thoughts and pretended not to know Duan Ling intended to confine her.
With him accompanying her, she went to the latrine and then returned to the room.
Lin Ting entered the room first, with Duan Ling following behind to close the door.
Immediately after, Lin Ting heard the sound of the door being locked.
She didn’t look back.
It didn’t matter who entered first or last—if Duan Ling wanted to lock the door, he would, so there was no real difference.
Once inside, Lin Ting began to observe her surroundings, for she sensed something had changed.
In the end, her gaze landed on the window.
There were three windows in the room.
Originally, nothing hung by the windows, but now there were bead curtains—not the kind that tinkle in the wind, but the kind that only make noise when someone moves them.
In other words, if she wanted to climb out the window to find someone, she would have to lift the bead curtain.
And Lin Ting couldn’t use the excuse of wanting to enjoy the view to raise the bead curtain.
The beads were transparent, made of fine Western-region glass.
The curtain had several finger-width gaps in the middle, which didn’t prevent her from seeing out or letting in the breeze.
Yesterday, there were no bead curtains by the window.
Today, they appeared out of nowhere.
Clearly, Duan Ling had hung them up.
She had slept so deeply from last night to today that she hadn’t heard a single sound of him putting them up.
Lin Ting walked to the window and lifted the bead curtain with her finger.
The beads clattered together with a “clang-clang”—anyone in the room would hear it.
Duan Ling looked over, his expression gentle as he asked, “Do you think the bead curtain looks nice?”
She let go of the curtain, tilting her head at him.
“It’s pretty, but why did you suddenly decide to hang bead curtains by the window?”
He also walked to the window.
“As you said, it’s pretty, and it can keep others from breaking in. If I’d hung these bead curtains before you were kidnapped, you might have noticed someone coming in and wouldn’t have been taken away.”
Lin Ting’s lips twitched.
‘Using this excuse again. As if I don’t know his real purpose.’
‘Oh well, I’m too tired right now, my mind can’t turn anymore, and I can’t think of a solution. I’ll sleep first and think about it after I wake up.’
Lin Ting crawled back onto the bed, closed her eyes, and said, “I’m going to sleep. Wake me in two hours.”
‘Hopefully after sleeping, I’ll come up with a way out.’
Duan Ling returned to the luohan couch to review documents.
After finishing his work, he looked up at the bed.
Lin Ting was sleeping soundly—she must have recovered a lot of her strength.
Her hands and feet were restless again, and she kicked the quilt onto the floor.
Not long after Lin Ting kicked off the quilt, she seemed to feel cold and fumbled around for something to keep warm, but only found a pillow.
Duan Ling was not surprised.
As before, he took a new quilt and covered her with it.
Lin Ting’s head was tilted, her hand resting on the pillow, her collar slightly open.
From Duan Ling’s angle, he could see a small patch of skin, crisscrossed with faint red and white marks—dense kiss marks.
Her neck was bare.
The Jin Caishen Pendant was still with Duan Ling; Lin Ting had forgotten to ask for it back today.
Since she’d never lent it to anyone before, she subconsciously thought the Jin Caishen Pendant was still with her.
When Duan Ling bent down to cover her, the rather heavy Jin Caishen Pendant slipped out from his clothes and dangled in midair.
Just then, she raised her hand and grabbed the Jin Caishen Pendant that brushed lightly over the quilt.
He thought she had woken up, but after looking at her, he realized she was still asleep.
She must have felt something brushing over her quilt in her sleep and grabbed it.
Duan Ling tried to take the Jin Caishen Pendant back from Lin Ting’s hand, but she held it tightly and even pulled it back, refusing to let go.
The red string around his neck, which held the Jin Caishen Pendant, was also pulled when Lin Ting tugged.
It was as if she was holding the string that controlled him, making him move with her.
Duan Ling’s gaze fell on the red string, which trembled slightly from the tug.
Lin Ting’s strength was no match for Duan Ling’s.
If he pulled hard, he could easily take it back.
But pulling forcefully would wake Lin Ting, and might even hurt her hand.
So Duan Ling gently held Lin Ting’s hand and skillfully pried her fingers open, one by one.
When all five fingers were released, the Jin Caishen Pendant dangled in the air again.
Duan Ling tucked her hand under the quilt, then put the pendant back under his own collar.
Lin Ting’s feet were still sticking out from under the quilt.
Her slender ankles, usually very fair, now showed a faint red ring.
Last night, her feet had been on his shoulders for too long and had been held by Duan Ling.
He lightly stroked the red mark, his eyes slightly unfocused.
Though his gaze seemed to rest on Lin Ting’s face, his thoughts were elsewhere.
After a long while, Duan Ling finally left.
Outside, the sky was gradually darkening.
Two hours passed, and he woke Lin Ting.
She mumbled, “I know,” without opening her eyes, still lying on the bed.
But her eyes—
Duan Ling was about to call her again, but before he could speak, his sharp ears picked up footsteps outside the courtyard—someone was approaching the gate.
She couldn’t hear it.
He didn’t call her again, but got up and went out.
Their room was not far from the courtyard gate, less than a hundred steps away.
Before the visitor could knock, Duan Ling opened the door and quickly closed it behind him.
He stepped outside.
The visitors were Duan Xinning and her personal maid Zhilan.
Zhilan was holding a lantern in one hand and had raised the other to knock, but when she saw Duan Ling come out, she stepped back.
“Second Young Master.”
Duan Xinning walked past Zhilan slowly to stand before Duan Ling, glancing at the tightly closed courtyard gate with some confusion.
The gate was usually left open so as not to block the master’s way.
Even if it had to be closed, the servants would wait until late at night.
But Duan Xinning didn’t dwell on it.
“Second Brother, what a coincidence. I just arrived, and you came out. Are you going out?”
“No, I heard something outside as I passed the gate, so I came to check.”
Duan Xinning was puzzled.
‘We hadn’t even knocked yet. How did he hear something outside? Did I step on a stone and make a sound without realizing it?’
Duan Ling wasn’t wearing wrist guards.
His loose sleeves hung down, covering the hand holding the key.
He spoke kindly, “What brings you here?”
Duan Xinning’s attention shifted, and she pursed her lips.
“I came to see Leyun.”
He hadn’t brought a lantern and was standing in the shadows, his features blurred and expression unreadable.
“Is there something you need from her?”
“No, I just wanted to see Leyun.”
Since coming to Ancheng, Lin Ting had visited her courtyard almost every day, sometimes skipping a day, but now she hadn’t come for two days.
Duan Xinning was a bit worried about Lin Ting.
“She’s already asleep.”
Duan Xinning grew anxious.
“She went to sleep so early today? Is she unwell?”
They’d chatted before about their routines, and she knew Lin Ting rarely slept so early—usually not before the hour of Hai.
Duan Ling remained calm and replied, “She’s not unwell. Don’t worry.”
With the gate shut, Duan Xinning couldn’t see what was happening inside.
“That’s good. But I heard Second Brother hasn’t let the servants into the courtyard since yesterday. Did something happen?”
Duan Ling’s tone was still gentle and kind.
“I haven’t been sleeping well lately. Too many people make it noisy, so I had them leave the courtyard.”
Duan Xinning believed him completely.
“If you haven’t been sleeping well, Second Brother, maybe you should see a doctor?”
He brushed it off lightly.
“No need to worry about that. Just focus on your own health. By the way, hasn’t Xia Zimo visited you at this hour?”
She replied, a little embarrassed,  “I didn’t want to see him today, so I didn’t let him in.”
Duan Ling looked down at a spider on the ground as it crawled forward, trying to get under the gate.
He stepped on it silently, crushing it.
“It’s windy at night. Since you’re pregnant, you shouldn’t stay out too long. Go back.”